Getting started
Customer Experience Templates Workflow
There is no single right way to organize your functionality. You can keep one functionality per customer experience template, or combine several into one. Both produce the same result on the storefront; the difference is how you manage them. This article shows both, using Pre-order plus Notify Me as the example. The two building blocks A customer experience template can hold one functionality or several. A single variant can have more than one customer experience template attached;FeaturedV2 General Guide
New to Timesact? This is your quick tour: where everything lives, and how to set up your first pre-order (or any other functionality). No technical know-how needed. Ready-made templates Everything in Timesact is set up in a customer experience template: one reusable setup that can run one functionality or several at once, and that you apply to as many products as you like. You don't have to start from a blank page. On the Experiences page, the Recommended section has ready-madeFeaturedAdding Products
Once you've created your customer experience templates, the next step is to add your products and choose which customer experience template applies to each one. You do all of this on the Products page. Where to find it In the app's left menu, click Products. This is where you pick which customer experience template applies to which products, and manage them all in one place. Step 1 — Add your products Click Add Products (top right). You'll be asked how you want to choose products,Few readersAdd products to a Customer Experience with a CSV file
The CSV upload in Timesact adds product variants to a Customer Experience, or removes them, from one spreadsheet file instead of picking them one by one. It suits large catalogues and moves from another pre-order app, and each row can carry its own start date, end date and pre-order quantity. You find it under Timesact → Products → Add Products → Upload by CSV → Import with CSV. Plan: All plans · Where: Timesact → Products → Add Products → Upload by CSV → Import with CFew readersFunctionality statuses on the Products page, explained
Every variant you add to Timesact shows a status badge for each functionality its Customer Experience runs, such as Pre-order - Active or Back in Stock - On standby. The status tells you whether that functionality is showing on your storefront right now, and if not, why. You find the badges in Timesact → Products, in the Functionality status column, and on each variant's page under Customer Experiences overview. Plan: All plans (the Paused status appears on the FREEFew readersBulk-edit pre-order products: quantity, dates and templates
The Products page in Timesact lets you change many product variants at once: set a new pre-order quantity, move the start and end dates, swap the Customer Experiences (templates) they use, or remove them from Timesact. You select the variants in the Products list, then pick an action from the bar that appears above it. Find it under Timesact → Products. Plan: All plans · Where: Timesact → Products → select variants → bar above the list Before you start The variants are alreaFew readersSet your store time zone for pre-order dates
The store time zone in Timesact sets the time zone your dates are read in: product Start and End dates, the pre-order shipping date, the date to charge the rest of a split payment, and countdown timer times. Every store starts on (GMT+00:00) UTC, so choose your own time zone first, then set your dates. You find it in Timesact under Billing & Account → Store settings → Time zone, on every plan. Plan: All plans · Where: Timesact → Billing & Account → Store settings → Time zone BeforFew readersPlans, order usage and plan usage alerts
Your Timesact plan sets how many orders Timesact handles each month. Usage counts orders, not items, and resets on the 1st of every month. You see your plan and usage on the Dashboard and in Billing & Account → Billing, you change plans there and approve the charge in Shopify, and plan usage alerts tell you by email or Slack when you reach 50%, 70% and 100% of your plan's monthly orders. Plan: All plans · Where: Timesact → Billing & Account → Billing, and Timesact → Dashboard → Plan aFew readers
Main Functionalities
Manage back-in-stock signups: send now, delete, and move to another variant
Every Notify Me, Back in Stock and Waitlist signup in Timesact is listed in one table under Analytics, where you can see each customer's status and act on it. From that table you can send the restock notification to selected signups right away, delete signups, and move pending signups from a variant you deleted in Shopify to the variant that replaced it. Open it from Timesact → Analytics → Notify Me, Back in Stock and Waitlist → Subscribers & email performance. Plan: All plansFew readersWishlist
Wishlist lets shoppers save the exact products they like, come back to them later, and get a reminder, a price-drop or a low-stock email while those products are still saved. What it does Shoppers save a product from the product page or from a collection card. Their saved items live in a Wishlist drawer they open from a floating button or from a heart in your store header, and they can add any item to the cart straight from there. While an item stays saved, Timesact can email the shoppeFew readersBack in Stock
A notification functionality that lets shoppers sign up to be emailed the moment an out-of-stock product is back. What it does When a product or variant is out of stock, Back in Stock shows a sign-up button on your storefront. A shopper leaves their email, and Timesact emails them automatically as soon as the item is back in stock. It is notification functionality in Timesact. How it fits into V2 Like every functionality, Back in Stock lives inside a customer experience template,Few readersComing Soon
A display functionality that swaps the Add to Cart button for a non-clickable "Coming Soon" button, so you can tease a product before it launches. What it does Coming Soon replaces the Add to Cart (or Sold Out) button on your storefront with a "Coming Soon" button, so shoppers can see an upcoming product before it is available to buy. It is display only. There is no purchase and no email sign-up, it simply shows the button, and optionally a badge or a countdown timer, to build a bit ofFew readersLow Stock
An urgency functionality that shows low-stock messaging once a variant's stock drops to a number you set, while the product stays fully buyable. What it does When a variant's available stock falls to or below a number you choose, Timesact shows low-stock messaging on your storefront, a button label, a message, and an optional badge or countdown timer, to create a sense of urgency. The product stays buyable the whole time. Low Stock does not stop the sale, the shopper can still add theFew readersPre-Order
A purchase functionality that replaces the Add to Cart button with a Pre-order button, so shoppers can buy a product before it's available and have it shipped once it's ready. Overview & core functionality Pre-order is purchase functionality in Timesact. It replaces the Add to Cart or Sold Out button on your storefront with a Pre-order button, and sets when the customer is charged and when their order ships. How it fits into v2 In v2, functionality and its configuration live inside aSome readersSign up in-store customers for Back in Stock alerts on Shopify POS
Back in Stock on Shopify POS lets your store staff sign a customer up for a back-in-stock alert from the Shopify POS app, at the counter, when the variant they want is sold out. You turn it on per Customer Experience in Timesact → Experiences → your Customer Experience → POS, and the customer then gets the same alert as a shopper who signed up on your online store. Back in Stock on Shopify POS is in beta and available on all plans. Plan: All plans · Where: Timesact → ExperiencFew readers
Notifications
Send back-in-stock alerts by SMS
Timesact can text shoppers when a product they signed up for is back in stock, as well as (or instead of) emailing them. You turn on the phone number field in the Notify Me form of your Customer Experience, then publish the Notify Me SMS notification on the Notifications page. SMS alerts are available on Flexible and Fixed plans billed monthly, and each text is billed per message through your Shopify bill, from $0.02 per SMS, varying by country. Plan: Flexible or Fixed plan, billed montFew readersAdd Newsletter Sign-ups to Your Customer List
Turn Back in Stock sign-ups into Shopify customers with marketing consent, automatically, using Shopify's free Flow app. This builds on Notifications - Shopify Flow When a shopper leaves their email on your Notify Me form and ticks the newsletter box, that email lives in Timesact so we can alert them about the restock. It does not automatically become a Shopify customer record, so it will not show up in Shopify CusFew readersNotifications Overview
Everything Timesact can send to your customers: what sets off each message, the three channels you can send through, and where to set each one up. You pick the channel per functionality, inside each customer experience template, so different products can be handled differently. The messages Timesact can send Back in stock, subscribed: a shopper submits the Notify Me form. Sent as a Shopify Flow trigger or a Klaviyo event, so you can send that shopper a confirmation from your own flow.Few readersNotifications - Built in
Timesact's default channel: transactional emails sent for you, edited in the app, no integration needed. For an overview of all channels and the events Timesact sends, see Notifications Overview. Where the content lives Open Notifications from the main app sidebar (not the one inside a customer experience template). This page has two parts: the sender domain setup and the list of customer notifications. CuFew readersNotifications - Shopify Flow
Build your own branded, multi-step automations on Timesact events using Shopify's free Flow app. Currently available for Back in Stock only. For how this compares to the other channels, see Notifications Overview If you do not have it yet, install Flow from the Shopify App Store. The triggers Timesact gives you Customer Signed Up for Back In Stock Alert: runs when a shopper submits the Notify Me form. **BFew readersNotifications - Klaviyo
Route Timesact events into Klaviyo so your existing flows, templates, and segments do the sending. For how this compares to the other channels, see Notifications Overview. Connect Klaviyo In the app, open Billing & Account from the main sidebar. Click the Integrations tab. On the Klaviyo card, click Connect. You are redirected to Klaviyo's sign-in screen. Sign in, or pick the account if you have seFew readers
Markets, Locations and Translations
Markets and Locations
Control where a customer experience template applies and which stock it watches. Market scope decides who sees it, inventory location scope decides which stock it reacts to. Both live under Markets & locations inside a customer experience template. The two settings Inside a customer experience template, the Markets & locations page has two settings that work independently of each other: Market scope (Select market scope) — which shoppers the customer experience template appFew readersTranslations
Show your storefront text (the button, message, badge, cart label, Notify Me form, and so on) in each language and market. Translations are done in Shopify's free Translate & Adapt app, not inside Timesact. This guide walks you through it step by step. How translations work Each customer experience template you build is saved as a Shopify item called a Timesact Customer Experience (Shopify calls these "metaobjects"). The text that shows on your storefront lives inside that item, in fielFew readersTranslations with Langify
Using langify instead of Shopify's Translate & Adapt? This guide shows you how to translate your Timesact storefront text (the button, message, badge, cart alerts, timer and Notify Me form) with langify, step by step. How it works Each customer experience you build in Timesact is saved as a Shopify item called a Timesact Customer Experience (Shopify calls these "metaobjects"). Everything a shopper reads lives inside that item, in fields named pre_order_config, back_in_stock_config, comingFew readers
Pre-Order Settings Explained
Block checkout for mixed carts (Timesact Cart Validation)
Block checkout stops a shopper from completing checkout while their cart holds both pre-order items and in-stock items, so pre-orders and in-stock items arrive as separate orders. It runs through a Shopify checkout rule called Timesact Cart Validation, which also covers Shop Pay, Apple Pay, Google Pay and other express checkouts. You turn it on per Customer Experience (the reusable template that holds your pre-order settings) in Timesact → Experiences → your Customer Experience → StorefrontFew readersBilling and Split payments
Billing decides how and when the customer is charged for a pre-order. Both options place a real order, the difference is when the money is collected. It is one of the reusable pre-order building blocks, for the overview see How Pre-orders Work. You set it under Functionality settings, Billing. The optional pre-order discount also lives here. Which payment methods work with pre-orders Pre-orders use Shopify's defSome readersHow Pre-Orders Work
What actually happens behind the scenes when you run a pre-order: how it is powered, when it shows, how customers are charged, when it ships, and how stock is handled. This is the concept behind the settings in the Pre-order **article, written so you understand the mechanics without needing to be technical. The pre-order Functionality settings are reusable building blocks, this article gives the overview and links to a dedicated aSome readersInventory and Fulfillment
How a pre-order is fulfilled, when its available quantity is reduced, and how out-of-stock items stay buyable. These are reusable pre-order building blocks, for the overview see How Pre-orders Work. You set these under Functionality settings. Deferred fulfillment A pre-order is placed now but fulfilled later. The shipping date you set travels with the order and is shown to the customer, so they know when to expeFew readersPre-Order Limit
The pre-order limit caps how many pre-orders you accept, so you do not commit to more than you can deliver. It is one of the reusable pre-order building blocks, for the overview see How Pre-orders Work. How to set it Pre-order quantity is unlimited by default. To cap it, open Products, open the product, and in the Customer Experience library find the template with Pre-order. Under **Pre-order quantity seFew readersShipping dates
The shipping date is not just a label. It sets the delivery commitment Shopify records on the pre-order, it is shown to the customer, it decides how the order looks and behaves in your admin, and for deferred or split payments it can drive when the balance is charged. This article covers all of it, from how you set it to what happens to the order. It is one of the reusable pre-order building blocks, for the overview see [How Pre-orders Work](https://help.timesact.com/en-us/article/how-pre-orFew readersWhen Pre-order shows
When Pre-order shows decides when the Pre-order button shows, worked out per variant from the variant's Shopify stock. It is one of the reusable pre-order building blocks, for the overview see How Pre-orders Work. You set it under Functionality settings. How it works Timesact works out a status for each variant from its Shopify stock and the mode you choose, and the storefront shows the matching button. There arFew readersChoose how pre-orders check out: Shopify purchase option or none, and holding orders
The Purchase option setting decides how Timesact creates a pre-order in Shopify. Use Shopify purchase option gives you split payments, deposits and pre-order discounts. Don't use a Shopify purchase option takes full payment at checkout and works with gift cards, Buy X Get Y, Shopify bundles, B2B checkout and local payment methods, and it lets you choose whether pre-orders arrive Unfulfilled or On hold. You set it per Customer Experience, in Timesact → Experiences → your Customer ExpeFew readersCharge the remaining balance when you fulfill the order
With a split payment, Timesact can charge the rest of a pre-order when you fulfill the order, instead of on a date. The shopper pays the first charge at checkout, and Timesact charges the remaining balance to the payment method saved at checkout as soon as every item in the order is fulfilled. It is a PRO plan option, set in Timesact → Experiences → your Customer Experience → Admin → Functionality settings → Pre-order → Billing, under When to charge the rest. Plan: PRO · *Where:Few readers
Managing Pre-Orders in Shopify
Capture Split payment Early
When a pre-order was placed with a split payment, the customer paid a deposit (or nothing) at checkout and the rest is scheduled to be collected later. If you need that remaining balance sooner, for example because the product is ready to ship ahead of schedule, you can collect it early: for several orders at once from Timesact, or for one order in Shopify. Before you start This applies to pre-order orders that still have a balance owing. On the order in Shopify you will see: A paymeFew readersHide Sold Out
Hide Sold Out takes products off your storefront once every tracked variant has sold out, and brings them back on their own when stock returns. What it does When all of a product's tracked variants reach zero, Timesact hides the product. When stock comes back, Timesact shows it again. You set it up once and it runs across your whole store. It carries a Storewide badge because it works on every product in your store at once. How it is different from everything else This is theFew readersModify Charge Date
On a pre-order with a deferred or split payment, the remaining balance is scheduled to be charged on a set date. You can move that date, earlier or later, by editing the order's payment terms in Shopify. This changes when the customer is charged for the balance, and nothing else. Before you start This applies only to pre-order orders that still have a balance owing. On the order you will see a payment status of Partially paid or Unpaid, and a Payment pending section showing the amount oFew readersRemove from On Hold
Pre-order orders are often kept on a fulfillment hold so they do not ship before your stock arrives. When you are ready to ship, you release the hold: for many orders at once from Timesact, or for one order in Shopify. Releasing is the step that lets a held pre-order become fulfillable. What "on hold" means On the order in Shopify, the unfulfilled items show an On hold status. A hold is a deliberate block that stops the items from being fulfilled, so a pre-order does not go out early. PFew readersShipping Profiles and Locations
Shipping profiles control which shipping rates a customer is offered, based on which products they are buying and which location those products ship from. They matter for pre-orders because pre-order items often ship later, or from a different location, than your in-stock items, and you may want them priced or handled differently. This is all set in Shopify. What a shipping profile is A shipping profile is a set of shipping rules for specific products and locations. Every Shopify storeFew readersShopify Order Tags
Timesact automatically tags pre-order orders in Shopify. Those tags let you filter your Orders list down to just pre-orders and save that as a permanent view, so you can find and work them in one place instead of hunting through every order. This is all done in Shopify. The tags Timesact adds When a pre-order is placed, Timesact tags the Shopify order automatically, you do not add these by hand: Pre-order — added to every order that contains at least one pre-order item. Partial PreFew readersTag Automation in V2
Tag automation attaches products to a customer experience template automatically, using a Shopify tag, so you do not have to pick them one by one. For adding products by hand, see Adding Products What it does You choose a tag. Any product in Shopify carrying that tag is added to this customer experience template on its own, and removing the tag in Shopify removes that product from the template again. There is no manual sFew readersThe add-on, Alerts and Slack
The add-on is an optional extra you can put on top of any plan. It adds Hide Sold Out and alerts, and you can also buy it on its own. What you get Hide sold-out products, covered in Hide Sold Out. Alerts by email and Slack, so Timesact tells you when something happens in your store. ![](https://storage.crisp.chat/users/hFew readersManage pre-order orders in bulk: collect payment, release holds and send shipping delay emails
The orders table in Timesact's Pre-order sales report lets you act on many pre-order orders at once. Select orders, then use Collect payment to charge the remaining balance on split-payment orders, Release holds to make held pre-orders ready to fulfill, or Send shipping delay email to tell customers about a new shipping date. Open it from Timesact → Analytics → Pre-order → Sales. Plan: All plans · Where: Timesact → Analytics → Pre-order → Sales → orders tableFew readers
Testing and Troubleshooting
How to test a customer experience template before you launch it, and how to fix the most common things that look wrong. Almost everything comes down to a variant's status, its stock, or where the customer experience template is scoped, all of which you can check yourself in a couple of minutes. Before you go live Run through this quick checklist on any product you are about to launch: The customer experience template has the functionality you want, and that functionality shows as ActFew readersAnalytics
See how your customer experience templates are performing, from sign-ups and orders through to revenue and conversion. Analytics is split into Pre-order reports, Notify Me, Back in Stock and Waitlist reports, and Wishlist reports, each with its own breakdowns. Where to find it Open Analytics from the main app sidebar. The landing page lists every report, grouped into Pre-order, Notify Me, Back in Stock and Waitlist and Wishlist. Once Hide Sold Out is set up, a **Sold-out proFew readersDeveloper settings: storefront selectors for custom themes
Developer settings in Timesact hold the CSS selectors the storefront script uses to find your theme's product form, Add to cart button, badges, Quick view pop-ups and the Wishlist header icon. Timesact places itself on most Shopify themes automatically, so these fields are for developers, agencies and confident merchants with a custom layout, a custom Quick view, or a header that needs the Wishlist heart in a specific spot. You find them in Timesact under Billing & Account → Developer settings,Few readers